Jo Bourne is Chief Technical Officer at the Global Partnership for Education where she draws on expertise across the broader partnership to drive quality policy, strategy and program development as well as rigorous monitoring and evaluation of GPE-supported programs.
Prior to joining GPE, Ms Bourne was UNICEF’s Associate Director for Education from 2013 to 2019 where she worked with UNICEF’s extensive global network to put equity and learning at the heart of UNICEF’s education agenda.
Ms. Bourne has been an active Board member of the Global Partnership for Education and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Educational Planning. She was also instrumental in establishing Education Cannot Wait, the fund for education in humanitarian emergencies.
Initially trained as a primary school teacher, Ms. Bourne worked in a Chinese teacher training college as a volunteer with Voluntary Service Overseas and has taught primary age children in the United Kingdom and China.
After completing an MA in Education and International Development, she joined DFID and took on overseas postings in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda (with the European Commission) and Rwanda. Much of her work in these countries concentrated on collaborating with national governments to develop, implement and monitor ambitious education strategies, whilst working simultaneously with key development partners to jointly finance education strategies and strengthen accountability for results.
Ms. Bourne also held several positions at DFID’s London Headquarters, playing a leading role in shaping the organization’s education policy and strengthening technical capacity.